Animal Ordinances in Colorado Springs, CO

If you live in Colorado Springs or are thinking about moving there, animal ordinances are one of those things you probably won't think about until they affect you directly. Colorado Springs has 11 specific rules on the books covering different aspects of animal ordinances, and some of them might surprise you.

Pet Limits

Colorado Springs allows up to four dogs and four cats over four months of age per property under City Code Subsection 6.7.106.F, and all dogs and cats must be vaccinated and licensed through the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region.

Key details: Code Section: City Code 6.7.106.F. Dog Limit: 4 dogs over 4 months of age per property. Cat Limit: 4 cats over 4 months of age per property. License & Vaccination: Required via Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region. Potbellied Pigs: Up to 2 per household, under 100 lbs.

Keeping more dogs or cats than the four-and-four cap in Subsection 6.7.106.F, or keeping unlicensed or unvaccinated animals, is a code violation enforced by the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region through citation, the City's payable-fine schedule, and possible impound. Licensing and vaccination must be current at all times.

Breed Restrictions

Colorado Springs has no breed-specific dog ban; Colorado state law C.R.S. 18-9-204.5(5)(a) prohibits municipalities from regulating dangerous dogs in a manner specific to breed, so dogs are regulated by behavior, not breed.

Key details: Breed Ban: None in Colorado Springs. State Preemption: C.R.S. 18-9-204.5(5)(a). Regulation Basis: Behavior and owner responsibility, not breed. Year Enacted: 2004 ('ban on bans'). Dangerous-Dog Authority Retained: Yes, if breed-neutral.

Because regulation is behavior-based, there is no breed to register or surrender. Owners face penalties only for behavior-based violations - running at large, dangerous-dog conduct, biting, failure to license or vaccinate - under the City Code and C.R.S. 18-9-204.5, which carries escalating criminal penalties for owners of dogs that cause injury.

Colorado Springs is more permissive than most cities when it comes to breed restrictions. That said, there are still limits.

Pet Groomer Rules

Pet Services, the UDC's category for grooming, retail sales, and small-animal training, must be located entirely within a completely enclosed building under § 7.3.303.A.1.c. The category is permitted by right in listed commercial and industrial zone districts and excludes veterinary care, shelters, and kennels.

Key details: Governing section: UDC § 7.3.303.A.1.c. Core standard: Must be fully enclosed building. Category excludes: Vet services, shelters, kennels. Zoning status: Permitted (P) by right in listed districts. Parking requirement: 1 space per 400 sq ft GFA.

The UDC does not write a separate fine schedule into § 7.3.303.A.1.c, so a grooming operation conducted outdoors, or opened in a zone district where the use table doesn't list Pet Services as permitted, falls under the City Code's General Penalty at § 1.1.201: conviction carries a fine of up to $2,500, up to 189 days in jail, probation, or a combination of the three, prosecuted in Municipal Court, unless a lesser penalty applies elsewhere in the Code.

Cat Rules

Colorado Springs requires every cat over four months old to carry a City license under City Code § 6.8.103, obtained within 30 days of the cat turning four months and renewed every one to three years. Feral cats enrolled in a nonprofit-run colony or trap-neuter-release program are exempt from licensing, and those colonies are also exempt from the at-large restraint rule.

Key details: License required: cats over 4 months old. Licensing deadline: within 30 days of turning 4 months. License term: 1 or 3 years (§6.8.106.A). Feral colony exemption: §6.8.103.C. Tag/collar or microchip: required under §6.8.107.

Keeping an unlicensed cat over four months old, letting the license lapse without renewing within 30 days, or removing the required collar and tag is punishable under the Code's general penalty section 1.1.201: a fine of up to $2,500, up to 189 days in jail, probation, or a combination, unless the Violations Bureau applies a lesser scheduled fine. A cat found roaming without an owner asserting the feral-colony exemption may be impounded under Article 10.

Mandatory Spay/Neuter

Colorado Springs is the only place in this code that mandates spay or neuter surgery for a specific pet: City Code § 6.7.110.D.5 requires every potbellied pig kept in the city to be spayed or neutered by four months old, and bans keeping or breeding any unaltered pig within city limits.

Key details: Spay/neuter deadline: 4 months old (§6.7.110.D.5). Registration fee: $75 with animal control. Weight cap: 100 lbs. Household limit: 2 pigs; 4 total dogs/cats/pigs. Microchip/tattoo required: by 4 months.

Keeping an unaltered potbellied pig past four months of age, or otherwise violating any condition of § 6.7.110.D, is unlawful and exposes the owner to the Code's general penalty under § 1.1.201, up to a $2,500 fine, 189 days in jail, probation, or a combination, and owners and keepers of potbellied pigs may separately be cited under §§ 9.6.101, 9.6.102, 9.6.104, 9.9.301 and 9.9.303.

This is one of the stricter rules in Colorado Springs's municipal code. If you are unsure whether your situation complies, it is worth checking with the city before proceeding.

Dog Leash Laws

City Code § 6.7.107 requires every dog or hoofed-animal owner or keeper to restrain the animal by confinement, collar and leash, or bridle to stop it running at large in any park or public place in Colorado Springs. An unrestrained animal is declared a nuisance and can be impounded, and letting a dog trespass or run loose is a separate offense.

Key details: Governing section: City Code § 6.7.107. Restraint methods accepted: Confinement, collar and leash, or bridle. Loose-animal status: Declared a nuisance; may be impounded. Exemptions: Police animals and feral TNR cats. Penalty: Up to $2,500 fine, 189 days jail (§1.1.201).

Failing to restrain a dog or hoofed animal is a municipal misdemeanor under Section 6.7.101, punished per the Chapter 1 general penalty of up to $2,500 and 189 days in jail unless the Presiding Judge has set a lower scheduled fine under Section 11.4.104. An animal caught running at large is impounded at the City Animal Shelter, and the court may weigh mitigating circumstances under Section 6.7.107B before sentencing the owner.

Chickens & Livestock

Colorado Springs regulates livestock kept on premises through City Code §§ 6.9.101–6.9.103: hoofed animals must be kept in sanitary, non-nuisance conditions subject to City or County inspection, manure must be removed at least every ten days, and the animals may only be kept where the City's Zoning Code allows and within its numeric limits.

Key details: Manure removal: at least every 10 days (§6.9.101.C). Inspection authority: City or County, any reasonable hour. Numeric cap: set by City Zoning Code (§6.9.102.B). Nuisance declaration: noncompliant premises (§6.9.101.B). Temp exception: packinghouse/slaughterhouse livestock ≤72 hrs.

Keeping hoofed animals in violation of the sanitary or zoning requirements is unlawful under § 6.9.103 and, absent a more specific penalty, punishable under the Code's general penalty § 1.1.201: up to a $2,500 fine, 189 days in jail, probation, or a combination. A noncompliant property can also be declared a public nuisance by the City or County and ordered abated under § 6.9.101.B.

Exotic Pets

Colorado Springs bars anyone from owning a wild, predatory or non-North-American animal inside city limits unless they first obtain an exotic animal permit under City Code § 6.7.111. Common pet-store birds, small rodents and small nonpoisonous reptiles under six feet are exempt, as are zoos, circuses and accredited research institutions.

Key details: Permit required for: wild/predatory/non-North-American animals. Application fee: $75 ($5 nonrefundable). Permit term: 1 year, renewable annually. Exempt: birds, small rodents, reptiles under 6 ft. Also exempt: zoos, circuses, research institutions.

Keeping an exotic animal without a permit, or after a permit has been revoked, is punishable under the Code's general penalty, § 1.1.201: up to a $2,500 fine, 189 days in jail, probation, or a combination. The animal may also be impounded immediately under § 6.7.114, and redemption requires paying impound fees under §§ 6.10.105–.106 and first obtaining a valid exotic animal permit.

This is one of the stricter rules in Colorado Springs's municipal code. If you are unsure whether your situation complies, it is worth checking with the city before proceeding.

Veterinary Clinic Zoning

Colorado Springs zoning splits veterinary care into Small Animal and Large Animal Veterinary Services, and City Code § 7.3.303A.1.b requires all veterinary activity to happen inside a completely enclosed building. Outdoor treatment is allowed only for large-animal practices in the A (Agricultural) zone district, and only with an approved conditional use permit.

Key details: Core rule: veterinary activity must be inside an enclosed building. Outdoor exception: Large Animal use in the A district only. Extra requirement: conditional use permit for outdoor care. Parking ratio: 1 space per 400 sq ft of GFA. Two use types: Small Animal vs. Large Animal Veterinary Services.

Operating outdoor veterinary treatment outside the A zone district, or without an approved conditional use permit inside it, is not a permitted activity under the UDC and is treated as an unlawful use subject to code enforcement action, including a correction order from the Manager. A clinic built without the required enclosed structure also risks losing its zoning compliance for the use.

Wildlife Feeding

Feeding wildlife anywhere in Colorado Springs without authorization is a noncriminal civil infraction under City Code § 6.7.121, but the City must issue a written warning first: no one can be prosecuted unless already warned or cited within the preceding six months, and the offending condition must be cured within 24 hours of that warning.

Key details: Offense type: noncriminal civil infraction (§6.7.121.A). Warning required before citation: yes, within prior 6 months. Cure period after warning: 24 hours. Exempt entities: shelters, zoos, licensed rehab facilities. Adopted by: Ordinance 18-114.

A first offense triggers only a written warning identifying the date, time, location and witness to the feeding, posted at the property; the resident then has 24 hours to stop. A repeat violation within six months of that warning can be charged as a noncriminal civil infraction under § 6.7.121, separate from the Code's criminal misdemeanor penalties, and the City's warning records serve as prima facie proof the first warning was given.

Beekeeping

Colorado Springs allows accessory beehives on any residential lot, but the number you may keep, and how far each hive must sit from property lines, scales with lot size under UDC Table 7.3.3-A, and hives near a boundary require a six-foot flyway barrier plus a nearby water source.

Key details: Governing section: UDC Subsection 7.3.304B, Table 7.3.3-A. Small lot cap: 2 hives under 20,000 sf; 5-ft setback. Large lot: 5+ acres: unlimited hives; 50-ft setback. Flyway barrier: 6-ft opaque fence/hedge if hive within 50 ft of line. Water rule: Fresh water within 5 ft of every hive.

Keeping more hives than Table 7.3.3-A allows for the lot size, or placing a hive without the required flyway barrier or water source, is a UDC accessory-use violation. Under City Code Section 1.1.201's general penalty, conviction carries a fine of up to $2,500, up to 189 days in jail, or both, with each day of noncompliance a separate offense.

The Bottom Line

Colorado Springs is tougher than many cities when it comes to animal ordinances. Out of the 11 rules covered here, 2 are rated strict. If you are a homeowner, renter, or business owner in Colorado Springs, take the time to understand these requirements before they become a problem. Most violations come with fines, and some repeat violations can escalate.

This guide is based on Colorado Springs's current municipal code. Local rules can and do change, so check the individual ordinance pages for the latest details, penalties, and FAQs.